Sweet Redemption in Woodward for Liam’s Map

Liam's Map earned his first graded stakes win on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes. (Photo by Joe Labozzetta/NYRA)
By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Add Liam’s Map to the constellation of stars this extraordinary racing season is producing.
After being caught by Honor Code’s desperate neck in the Whitney Stakes on Aug. 8, Liam’s Map showed how serious a player he will be in the Breeders’ Cup with a commanding wire-to-wire victory in the $600,000 Woodward Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
Winning trainer Todd Pletcher said of the reversal of fortunes for Liam’s Map, “The Whitney was as tough a loss as you’ll experience. He ran an unbelievable race that day.”
Liam’s Map ran another huge race in topping Coach Inge, another Pletcher trainee, by 4 ¾ lengths in the Woodward. Wicked Strong rallied for third.
Pletcher said he has always thought highly of Liam’s Map, a 4-year-old colt by Unbridled’s Song.
“The only thing that ever surprised me was when he lost the first time out,” he said of his career debut.
An $800,000 yearling purchase, Liam’s Map rebounded from that defeat to romp by 9 ½ lengths in his second start, triggering a four-race winning streak that he took into the Whitney. That prestigious Grade 1 race marked his first test against graded stakes company.
The Whitney could easily have gone the way of Liam’s Map. Mike Smith, his jockey that day, blamed himself because his mount reacted badly to left-handed urging, something the horse was unaccustomed to.
“It was probably the first time in his life he was hit left-handed,” Pletcher said. “Maybe it startled him a bit.”
The Whitney appeared to push Liam’s Map to the limit, raising questions about his ability to recover in time for the Woodward. Interestingly, Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey decided to skip the 62nd running of the Woodward with Honor Code. Pletcher was delighted that he made a different decision.
“Your first thought would be that it was a tough race,” Pletcher said. “Forty-eight hours after the race, he was full of energy, full of life.”
2015 WOODWARD STAKES

Courtesy of NYRA
Javier Castellano, who capitalized with Honor Code when Liam’s Map faltered late in the 1 1/8-mile Whitney, gained the assignment with Liam’s Map for the Woodward, run at the same distance.  The use of a left-handed stick never became an issue. Castellano got the job done with a vigorous hand ride in earning his fifth Grade 1 triumph of the demanding Saratoga meet.
Bay of Plenty, ridden by Joel Rosario, tracked Liam’s Map in second but did not apply the amount of pressure other starters surely hoped for. The front-runner put up an opening quarter of :23.69, went the half-mile in an easy :47.49 and three-quarters of a mile in 1:10.94. His final time was 1:47.44. He returned $4.40 for a $2 win wager as the heavy favorite.
“The opening fractions were very much in his favor, and he has a style where he can just get into a cruising speed and keep carrying it,” said Pletcher, adding, “He just gets into that rhythm and he just runs horses off their feet.”
LIAM'S MAP STREAKS INTO STRETCH IN FRONT

Photo by Arianna Spadoni/NYRA
Pletcher, dueling Chad Brown for the training title at Saratoga, indicated he is leaning toward waiting until the Breeders’ Cup before sending Liam’s Map to the starting gate again. The Woodward marked only the third start this season for Liam’s Map, who won for the fifth time in seven career starts with a pair of runner-up finishes on behalf of Teresa Viola Racing Stables.
The Las Vegas Dirt Mile and what looms as a loaded $5-million Classic are both under consideration for Liam’s Map when the Breeders’ Cup is held Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.
Pletcher said he would likely pre-enter in both races before choosing.
For a Equibase chart, click here.
LIAM'S MAP

Photo by NYRA